About Against Litter

Welcome to our Against Litter campaign. Here you can find all you need to know about the many ways in which we are tackling the issue of littering across our district. Also how you and your community can help us keep our district beautiful.

We're all responsible

Our Campaign

You've told us that littering, fly tipping and dog fouling are a priority concern in the Chichester District and we agree with you.

We live and work in one of the most beautiful places in the country and yet we have to spend over £1 million keeping our district clean and tidy.

We believe that if we could reduce fly tipping, dog fouling and littering, some of that £1 million could be saved and spent on more important community services.

That's why, last year, we introduced our Against Litter campaign. We trialled a successful litter enforcement scheme and encouraged you to alert us of any littering in your area by visiting our Against litter campaign page.

This year, our Against Litter campaign aims to bring everyone together in the fight against the crime of littering. Our focus will be on urging residents, businesses and local communities to get involved by becoming litter aware and taking a pride in their area.

This is a concentrated effort and will involve a number of different methods. We want to engage with local communities and empower them to take positive, preventative action, as well as encouraging local businesses to get involved.

Enforcement will continue to be a key part of this, but we hope that by increasing awareness of the issues surrounding littering and fly tipping, and working together, we can keep our district beautiful.

Campaign activities

Report it: We will be encouraging you to report fly tips and litter hot spots.

Enforcement and fines: As part of a trial partnership project, enforcement officers from East Hampshire District will continue to patrol our streets and take action against anyone caught littering or not clearing up their dog's mess.

Adopt an Area: We will be inviting community groups and businesses to 'Adopt an Area' and take pride in their patch.

Celebrate community heroes: We will be celebrating the fantastic work of our community heroes who spend hours cleaning up after others.

Environmental crime watch: We will continue to take action against those who ﬂy tip and as part of a partnership project with Trading Standards, the police and the fire service. We will also be placing cameras at hot spots to crack down on ﬂy tipping.

Trade driver advice: to help prevent accidents arising from goods falling onto roads, we will be advising tradespeople to securely fasten their loads. We will also be encouraging tradespeople to ensure that they are registered as waste carriers.

What is litter?

Litter is anything that is thrown down or dropped and then left. This includes:

cigarette ends

cigars

chewing gum

sweet wrappers, and

food containers.

What are the fines for littering and dog fouling?

It is a crime to drop litter or to leave your dog's mess behind.

If you are caught dropping litter, which includes dog waste bags, you will receive an on the spot fine of £100. This reduces to £75 if it is paid within 14 days.

If you are caught not clearing up your dog's mess, you will receive an on the spot fine of £100. This reduces to £75 if it paid within 14 days.

If the fines are not paid and a case goes to court, the maximum penalty for littering is £2,500, and £1,000 for dog fouling.

The council does not make any money from the fines; they just pay for the service. The litter enforcement officers are highly trained. Their visibility in our communities will hopefully make people think twice about dropping litter and make a strong message that we want to protect our beautiful environment. East Hampshire, Havant and Arun District Councils have already introduced this scheme with great success.

What is fly tipping?

Fly tipping is when waste is illegally dumped on roads or land which is not licensed for waste. Fly tipped waste generally consists of materials such as household waste, large domestic items such as fridges and furniture, garden refuse, commercial waste, such as building rubble and soil, asbestos waste and tyres.

You can be fined up to £50,000 or sentenced to 12 months in prison if convicted in a magistrates' court. If you are convicted at crown court then fly tipping can attract an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison. We can also ask the court to make an order to confiscate vehicles used in fly tip offences.

In 2016, Chichester District Council spent more than £52,000 clearing away fly tipping.

Household Waste- your responsibility

By law, it is the householder who is responsible for making sure their waste is disposed of safely and legally. Whether you have finished decorating, are a student clearing out your house or been busy sprucing up the garden, it is down to you to ensure your waste is disposed of properly.

When fly tipping occurs, it is often carried out by illegal waste carriers who promise to take your waste away for a bargain fee but then dump it. Some people will drive around specifically targeting homes where there is evidence of work taking place. They will then offer to take your waste away for a fee.

If you are looking to start on a household project such as decorating or gardening consider what waste you may generate and how you will dispose of it once the job is done. Before hiring any individual or company take down the individual / company details and check with the
Environment Agency
that they are a registered waste carrier.

It's also important that when a company or individual comes to pick your waste up you make a note of:

who came and description

vehicle details and the registration, and

the time and material(s) they took away

If the waste is dumped illegally, the waste could be traced back to you rather the person who dumped it and you would be held responsible.

We may take enforcement action against anyone found to be fly tipping on public or private land. If a substantial quantity of waste is dumped or if it contains hazardous materials, offenders could be prosecuted which could lead to a fine of up to £50,000 and confiscation of the vehicle used to transport the waste.

Litter facts and figures

We spend over £1 million each year on keeping the district clean

We spent nearly £75,000 clearing up fly tips between 2016 and 2017

You can place dog bags in any litter bin

Cigarette butts don't decompose. They endanger wildlife if they are left on the ground and release toxic chemicals

We've seen an increase in fly tips over the past year and dealt with almost 1,000 cases.

How can I support the Against Litter campaign?

Sign up to support our campaign and receive regular news and updates.

Report any hotspot areas for dog fouling littering or fly tipping. You can contact us to report a problem.

Sign up to our Adopt an Area scheme and become a community clear-up hero. We can support your initiatives whether you hold an event once a year, every month, every week - it's up to you!

Make sure that if you are doing any decorating / household work that you dispose of your waste both legally and safely.

Be alert to fly tipping in your area- have you seen unfamiliar vehicles at strange times of day?

Ask your child's school if it would like to have a Waste Buster education programme.

Sign up and support the Against Litter campaign

If you are against litter and would like to receive more information, adopt an area or report a litter crime, then complete the form below and join in our campaign to keep our district litter free.